I've been cruising these posts for days and there's so many options or ways of recording audio I'm not sure which way to go.

I have a Canon XL1s, no MA-100/200

I'm going to be shooting interviews in bars and also a "game show" type setup. I've found that the onboard mic for the XL1s is GREAT and very directional, although I'd like to have more control over the audio. It just scares me a little to think that is my only source of sound for the productions. I think the onboard mic will work fine for the interviews but for the other scenerio I was thinking maybe two shotgun mics on stands ( out of frame ) and recording to an external source such as a laptop or dat.

If I use a laptop, I do have an Omni I/O breakout box but need to find some type of USB/Firewire solution for it, possibly the Omni Quatro but don't really have the extra $$$.

If I use 2 shotgun mics on booms or stands should I just record directly into the XL1s or a dat, minidisc, laptop, etc. ? If I use an external sound recorder, do I still use the onboard mic?

I know this is a lot of questions and info, sorry.. I'm just looking for any suggestions for a newbie. I'm not against looking up all the info for myself, I know everything I need is more than likely here on the board already but I'm running out of time and need a solution quick.

I am going to buy some sofware to help fix up some audio in a project of mine. There are a lot of threads discussing sound forge and how good it is, but I am having trouble figuring out which they are talking about. On the SF (sony) website they have Sound Forge 7.0 and Sound Forge Studio 6.0 listed with a significant price difference. If I want to remove back ground noise and improve some other dialogue that was recorded with the mic too far away which product do I need? I don't mind spending the money on 7.0 but don't want to if the Studio 6.0 can do what I want. I'll download the demos and try them out but thought someone here might be able to steer me in the right direction and save me some time. Thanks as always for you input.

Some of the answer depends on how noisy the environment is where you will be recording.

Shotguns aren't really made for noisy environments. They can quickly be overwhelmed and deliver bad sound.

My first choice for an interview in a noisy environment would be a wired lavaliere. Second choice, if one doesn't mind the microphone in the shot is a hand-held 'interview' microphone. Those are long and have a small head.

Instead of 2 shotguns which really won't bring you any advantage with a single interviewee, if the environment is quiet enough to use a shotgun, get someone to handle the shotgun in a shockmount. Something like the Light Wave Systems supermount which is easy to manage and aim. Then hire yourself someone at minimum wage to hold it. That requires minimum skills as opposed to putting the microphone on a boom pole. You really cannot depend on your untrained talent to stay in the focus point of a shotgun on a stand. Even sitting they can move enough to affect the sound.

Game shows are either boomed or the people use lavalieres. Wireless lavalieres.

__________________
Mike Rehmus
Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

Does anyone use this microphone? I'm a newbie planning on getting a DVX100 pretty soon. I've heard mixed reviews about the SenheisserME66 so I heard this was a good step up? Is this true? How would I mount this? Thanks.

Has anyone tried putting a microphone on a mike stand and miking one of the audio monitors? I've been asked to do a wedding and only have one wireless mike - a handheld. I have another lav mike, but the receiver is not a camera mountable type. I thought that if they have house sound, I could just place a mike in front of one of the speakers.

I think this issue has been mentioned before, but I couldn't find the thread. Anyway, I borrowed a friend's ATR55, and it only seems to record on the left channel. Is there some kind of on-camera setting that will activate both channels? This isn't a "mono" mic, is it? Oh, and for the record, I'm using it with a GL2.

This mic is only temporary, for I intend to "trade up" later (maybe Santa will be kind to me this year). I'd like to have this problem cleared up anyway, in case it happens with whatever mic I get later.

I do it quite frequently. I use a Shure Beta58 with a wireless plug-on transmitter. One could use a wired microphone if necessary but that's a lot of wire and limits movement.

I lay the microphone on the top of the monitor with the ball-end sticking out over the top lip of the monitor. I then tape the microphone to the top of the monitor with Gaffer's tape after first asking the owner if it is OK. The ball is covered with a fuzzy wind screen to avoid pumping noises (Monitors can move a LOT of air) and to avoid vibration where the microphone contacts the monitor case.

I've tried this with a lav and it failed miserably. The microphone element was overloaded and distorted badly.

I think a dynamic microphone is the best choice in these situations.

__________________
Mike Rehmus
Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

The ATR-55 is a mono mic... you'll find that MOST shotguns are mono... a cheap-junk stereo shotgun may be out there, but for the most part stereo shotguns are VERY high dollar... even an me66 is mono... some cams can combine the L/R inputs but if not then there's an adapter from RadioShack that'll do it... otherwise just click "duplicate left" in your audio properties of that clip in the timeline.

I started out with ATR-55's and you'll be blown away when you go to an me66 or similar mic of that class... (if not better).

I'm trying to decide between the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 and the Creative MegaWorks 2.1 speakers (and yes, I know these aren't studio quality). I'm interested in comparisons regarding sound quality for moderate gaming, listening to CDs while surfing the net, and listening to the sound while video editing (when I'm not using headphones).